Analysis of illicit carfentanil: Emergence of the death dragon

•Illicit carfentanil hydrochloride has recently entered the U.S. drug market.•Three carfentanil exhibits were characterized by multiple analytical methods.•Spectral data for carfentanil citrate and carfentanil hydrochloride are presented.•Isotopic analyses indicate two of the three exhibits are intimately related.

The United States is currently in the midst of an unprecedented illicit fentanyl crisis. In the last year alone there have been more recent fentanyl-related overdose deaths than in the previous 60 years. The current crisis is multi-faceted and involves a global supply of fentanyl and related substances being smuggled into the United States. Illicit carfentanil hydrochloride has recently entered the drug market causing multiple overdoses and deaths across the U.S. To date, over 400 confirmed carfentanil cases have been identified. Carfentanil is approximately 100 times more potent that fentanyl with only 20 μg of material required to produce a lethal dose. Due to a lack of published spectra for carfentanil HCl, analytical profiles are provided for three recent carfentanil submissions to our laboratory which include infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, isotope ratio mass spectrometry, and quantitative determination via gas chromatography-flame ionization detection. The three submissions were determined to contain 0.62%, 1.87%, and 0.31% carfentanil HCl, respectively. Each exhibit also contained a fentanyl-related substance (fentanyl or 2-furanylfentanyl). Acetylcarfentanil was characterized as an impurity in two exhibits. Isotopic analyses of two exhibits suggest they are intimately related.

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